Nightmares
by Urainium235
Summary: Moments in the Strawhat Crew If ANY couples are mentioned it'd be a LxN but mostly there just random moments. Characters are in the titles.
1. Luffy's Hunger

_The ring of Steel is Zoro his blades are spinning in deadly arcs towards another swordsman who wields a scimitar. I hear the clash of blades and I see a sword gliding neatly through zoro's ribs and rippling upwards to make it's exit through his head. Zoro's dead_

_The sound of Thunder is Nami her clima tact lies on the floor in too many pieces. A trident has her impaled high above my head with her heat sticking firmly on the end of the middle point protruding from her body. Nami is dead_

_The smell of fire is Sanji his feet are a blur as they proceed to swing around searching for his foe. His face is being held underwater and his bodies in spasms in a vain struggle to get free. Soon he goes still and the fire dies out. Sanji's dead_

_The taste of gunpowder is Usopp the bullet went straight through his head and out the other side. He didn't even have a chance to taunt his foe. Usopp's dead_

_The smell of meat is Chopper from where I stand I can see the cannibal eating his dead body. The cannibal is sad choppers last spasm turned him back into a half deer so there's barely any meat on him. Chopper is dead._

_The scent of flowers is Robin she never even got up for the fight she was poisoned before hand. Robin is dead_

_Then there's me. The feel of Rubber is Luffy, Shanks was right about the cursed fruit I can't even move because of a necklace made of seastone._

_The enemy crew leaves the captain says that I was a fool to eat the fruit so I'll die a fool's death. He leaves me there alone unable to protect my Nakama and unable to even turn away from their corpses just waiting for my own death._

I wake up with a gasp it was just a dream again that's all just a dream but one day it might be reality. I quietly walk into my thongs and slip out of the cabin and onto the deck. I start retching and eventually I'm vomiting over the side of the boat. I keep vomiting until blood starts coming out instead of food and liquid. Then I pull at my fingers.

They stretch

But one day I won't, one day I'll get rid of the fruit and I'll no longer have to fear losing my nakama.

I'm hungry again but that's always a side effect my nakama think I eat too much but truthfully I reject most of it anyway. Because one day the fruit will come up too and then I will never be afraid again.


	2. Chopper's Ignorance

Ignorance is Bliss

I was born into a harsh world which seemed to question my very existence.

I was aware of every detail around me. The cold wind which seemed designed to not be cold enough to kill me but to never allow me to enjoy existence.

I was aware of my mother as she walked with the rest of the herd and she never looked at me, never touched, never cared for me.

I was aware of the herd leader as he charged me and broke my right horn, as my fragile bones succumbed to the force and broke. When he finally left I was anything but ignorant of what reindeer were like.

I was aware of the gunshots and the stinging pain the brought. I learnt extremely fast of human's reactions to me and what they saw me as. Everything around me was against me I was cold, alone and hated. I would have ended it all there except for one man who saved me from that oblivion.

For that brief time I was aware of happiness and contentment.

I was aware of what losing that happiness and contentment felt like. It made me wish I'd never found it in the first place.

I was aware of what it felt like to have a loved one die, and the even stronger pain of knowing you were responsible. Then for along time I was aware of learning and training and the constant enmity of humans.

That was my childhood, which was my life

I am not aware of many things, places, people, monsters all of these things I do not know. But when it comes to human emotions I am aware and I don't like.

Laugh at me for my ignorance but stop and think are you better off for knowing all the thins that can hurt you? Or are you more scared? When I stare into the night no imaginative monsters appear. What happens when you stare?

Ignorance is Bliss


	3. More than Straw

If you don't get the story then you don't deserve to get it. The only hints I'm giving is that I'm a LuNa fan.

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"The afro Luffy!!! If you wear the afro you'll be unstoppable Luffy when you wear the Afro not even all the Shichibukai combined could stop you!"

Usopp paused for a moment in his tirade of the benefits of the Afro to see whether his words had persuaded Luffy to wear the already mentioned afro. Deep down in Usopp's heart, when you got past all his jokes and annoying little quirks, deep down where a serious person with sound logic and reasoning existed Usopp _knew_ that any man wearing an afro was absolutely unstoppable.

Luffy still looked puzzled and gave a small shake of his head, Usopp's genuine logic and reasoning had failed, therefore Usopp only had one choice left.

"Come on Luffy, use the afro, if you use the afro Sanji will make you twice as much meat next time we eat, and all the Pirate King's of the past wore an afro sometimes."

By the time Usopp had finished speaking the afro was already on Luffy's head. It looked perfect, completely matching the Luffy's already chosen attire… except for one tiny little detail.

"Luffy, take off your hat it looks ridiculous sitting on to of the afro" Usopp held out his hand to take the hat but instead of giving up the hat Luffy backed away. "Luffy, I know how much you love the hat I promise not to break it now give me the hat!"

Again Luffy backed away and began sadly taking off the afro.

"What are you doing? The afro would make a sure win! Luffy put that afro back on right now and just give me your hat"

"No, I don't swing that way Usopp you'll never get MY hat"

"Luffy, I promise, after the fight which you _will_ win ONLY because you have an afro, I will give back your hat, so just give me the hat!"

"No, no one messes with the hat no one else touches the hat except me!"

"Luffy, don't lie I've seen you drop the hat before, we _have _to pick it up and give it to you all the time."

"That's different, there's a huge different between me giving and you picking it up!" Luffy at this point ruins his profound reasoning by attempting to bite a plastic apple. "OW, what the hell!! Who would put a fake apple here?!?!?!"

Usopp's pauses for a moment to actually consider Luffy's words, now he thinks about it, Luffy was right, he _never_ ever actually gave anyone the hat. How had he missed that all this time? He could have sworn that Luffy let his nakama hold the hat but now he realized he always took it back as soon as possible, he's never actually given anyone that hat… aha but wait yes he has! Luffy was lying he'd given the hat to Nami right before they attacked Arlong. Luffy was bluffing!! And Usopp would call the bluff!

"Luffy… you're lying! You _have _given your hat away before; remember you gave your hat to Nami right before you attacked Arlong" Usopp believed he had the advantage now, he'd called Luffy's bluff, he'd have to hand over his hat now and then he'd put on the Afro and happily go and beat Foxy.

And that was when it all went wrong

Instead of grinning and confessing he lied, Luffy went still and carefully put down the plastic meat he'd been about to bite. For a moment he remained completely still and then he lifted his head and looked at Usopp.

Usopp's eyes widened in shock and what he was seeing, his Captain was crying. He wasn't bawling and it wasn't a single tear but still, Luffy was crying. He wasn't making any sound but the tears were slowly falling down his cheeks. _What the hell did I say wrong? Damn maybe he's really scared of losing the match and having us all become slaves._ "Oi Luffy, it's going to be okay, you can wear your hat and the afro, don't worry it's going to be okay, you'll beat him easily and we'll all be together again."

Despite Usopp's consoling words Luffy was still motionless as the tears kept falling down his cheeks, it was as though he hadn't even heard Usopp's voice. Usopp couldn't think of anything else to say to comfort Luffy, so he just sat there waiting for his Captain to respond.

It seemed like a long time to Usopp mentally, but he could hear the crowds vague cheering on the shore so he knew it was only a short time in reality before Luffy spoke.

"She gave it back to me. Even after I beat up Arlong for her she still gave it back to me" his tone was sad and reflective almost an opposite of how he normally sounded. It sounded like Luffy was actually _thinking _about his words before saying them.

"Shanks told me that you when you think you're ready and absolutely sure your making the right choice. You give a gift, a treasured possession as a representation of your feelings. Most people give a ring, but I wanted it to be special."

Usopp after his mother's death grew up alone, thus he missed out various information that most children learn while growing up, so as such he unfortunately missed what Luffy had done.

"After my fight with Arlong, after he'd been beaten she gave my hat back to me. I _gave _it to her and she gave it back like it was worth so little and like it meant nothing!" Luffy's tone was upset now, he'd stopped crying and he was bunching his fists. "Am I really worth so little? Does the one possession I can call me own mean so little!"

Usopp finally thought he understood, Luffy had obviously intended for Nami to only return the hat when he asked for it, not before _otherwise _Luffy would feel insulted. As Usopp concluded this must be the _only _possible explanation he responded accordingly.

"Luffy I promise I'll give it back _only_ when you ask for it ok?"

Luffy seemed to consider this for a moment "You understand when I lend you my hat, it's just that right? I'm not like that; when I give my hat to you it's _not_ a propo-"

He was interrupted by Usopp quickly swiping the hat off Luffy's head and jamming the Afro on. "Ok, ok whatever Luffy, I'll give it back when you ask, but right now you've got a crew to save."

Luffy slowly got up

"As long as you understand Usopp, I'm never going to propose to anyone again, it hurts way too much." Luffy's rubber grin returned to his face seemingly removing all traces of the sadness Luffy had on his face mere moments ago.

As Luffy roared out of the changing rooms Usopp couldn't help but feel that he'd missed something.


End file.
